Heracles Almelo booked the first victory in 2022 on Friday thanks to a late goal by Kaj Sierhuis. The team of trainer Frank Wormuth was 1-0 too strong for FC Utrecht in Erve Asito.
After 0-0 against NEC, 1-1 against Go Ahead Eagles, and a 3-0 defeat against Ajax, Heracles against FC Utrecht seemed on its way to a goalless draw, until Sierhuis’s goal in the 82nd minute. A setback for the striker was that he dropped out in extra time with a knee injury.
With the win, Heracles takes away from the bottom places. The club from Almelo is now fifteenth, four points ahead of number sixteen Fortuna Sittard. The gap with PEC Zwolle is seven points.
FC Utrecht remains seventh and must fear that subtoppers Vitesse, AZ, and FC Twente will run out further.
The difference between the first and second half at Heracles-FC Utrecht was large on Friday evening. Before the break, almost nothing happened in Almelo, but after the break, it was still a fascinating battle. Heracles was still somewhat threatening for the break with opportunities for Sierhuis and Nikolai Laursen.
In the second half, the game went up and down, with a spectacular moment in front of Heracles’ goal soon. Djevencio van der Kust shot at the intersection and in the rebound Mark van der Maarel couldn’t get the ball in. On the other hand, Heracles striker Bilal Basaçikoglu put in a wonderful overhead kick, but he didn’t score.
Henk Veerman, who was in the starting line-up for FC Utrecht for the first time, also got another chance and Sander van de Streek and Willem Janssen were also close to 0-1. It was goalkeeper Janis Blaswich who kept Heracles going, after which Sierhuis actually made the stadium cheer in the 82nd minute.
